


Moment of Truth in the Lies

by lenasmagic (dimensionhoppingrose)



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Angst-ish?, Episode Tag, F/F, Fluff, Friendship, Other, Spoilers for The Lost Harp of Mervana, hints of romance in that Webby and Lena are just so cuddly, more sad and fluff tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:49:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23727094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dimensionhoppingrose/pseuds/lenasmagic
Summary: -Spoilers for 3x04 The Lost Harp of Mervana!!!-Webby still feels down after finding out about Beakley lying to her. Who better to help with that than her best friend?
Relationships: Bentina Beakley & Webby Vanderquack, Lena (Disney: DuckTales) & Webby Vanderquack
Comments: 10
Kudos: 95





	Moment of Truth in the Lies

_You home?_

Lena rolled over to look at her phone, frowning slightly when she saw the text from Webby. She’d thought they would be gone all day on their underwater adventures.

 _Yeah. Window’s open_.

She wasn’t surprised when a tiny duckling popped into her window a moment later. “Violet and the dads gone?”

“Yeah, all-day bookstore run. Nerds. But you knew that because you were standing in the driveway when you texted me.” It wasn’t a question. Webby sighed, dropping onto the bed. “Mermaids weren’t great?”

“No, mermaids are great. It’s kind of complicated, but they were awesome.” She reached for the teddy bear that Lena definitely did _not_ sleep with every night. She just kept it in her room because it had been a gift from Webby. And the pink bow on the ear was cute.

“So… what happened?”

“Granny lied to me.”

 _No duh_ , was Lena’s first thought. She was a former spy. She probably lied like she breathed. But Webby loved her grandmother, and Lena knew she had to be gentle. “I think all adults lie a little,” was what she finally settled for. “But I’ve only lived with actual adults for like, six months, so what do I know.”

Webby flopped over to lie on her stomach, the bear crushed between her chest and the bed. “She’s always saying my optimism is my strength, but then she lies to me because she doesn’t want me to lose that. How am I supposed to believe in people if I can’t trust my grandmother?”

“Did you guys talk about it?”

“Yeah.” Webby pressed her face into the bed. “And I thought I felt better. She said she doesn’t have any other secrets from me.” Lena didn’t believe that for a minute. “But… I don’t know. I guess I understand why she did it, but that doesn’t make it any better.”

Lena understood where Colonel Crumpet was coming from as well, even if she didn’t want to admit it. Protecting Webby was a natural instinct – not from anything physical. She had that covered. But she was so innocent about the world and always thought the best of everyone. Beakley was right – it was her strength. But it was also a weakness Lena had spent months exploiting.

“Well.” She crawled over to lie with Webby, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer. “I lied to you the entire time you knew me, and you still trust me.”

“That wasn’t your fault,” Webby mumbled into the blanket. “Magica made you do that.”

“Magica didn’t _make_ me do anything. I listened to her because I believed her when I said she would free me. I could’ve told you the truth and asked for help at any point, but I didn’t. I waited until it was too late.”

Webby raised her head after a moment to look at Lena. “That was still different. And you’re not the same person you were then. You’ve changed.”

“Yeah, but you can at least trust that your grandmother isn’t secretly working for some villain and using you to get something. Beakley is honest when it counts. She loves you.” Lena hugged Webby a bit tighter. “Did she ever tell you she banned me from seeing you?”

“ _What_?”

Lena laughed. “Yeah, after that whole cave-in down in the subway tunnels. She told me to help her get the cars disconnected, then said when we got out of there I wasn’t allowed to see you again.”

Webby looked absolutely scandalized. “No way!”

“Yup. Totally sold her on the delinquent teenager act.”

“So… what made her change her mind?”

“I got a train car off of her after Launchpad crashed everything. Not sure she ever figured out _how_ I did it – magic, before you ask – but I guess something about doing that made me worth a second chance.” Lena shrugged. “I always told myself – and Magica – that it was to earn brownie points and keep a place in your life. Plus, it got me access to the mansion which was the whole goal. But honestly… I just knew you’d be upset if she died. Because you’re you and you love everyone so much, and you forgive people even when they don’t deserve it. I lied to you about _so_ much, and… honestly there are still things I haven’t told you, and things I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to tell you. But you still trust me. And if I’m still worth that after everything I did wrong, then I think Tea Time deserves a little leeway, too.”

Webby smiled just slightly, leaning over to rest against Lena. “I guess you’re right. I know she loves me. And I know she just wants to protect me from everything. Pretty sure that’s why she kept me locked up in the mansion for most of my life.”

“Yeah, that might not have been the best way to go about things...” A lot of Webby’s naivety came from her lack of social contact for most of her life. It was what had made it so easy to manipulate her.

“I don’t think it’s _that_ bad.”

“You walked in on me holding a diamond dagger over Scrooge while he slept,” Lena reminded Webby, “then just believed me when I said I caught the fan fever. What did you think I was going to do, cut off some hair samples?”

That got Lena a giggle, which made it worth it, as far as she was concerned. “But you’ve changed. I _know_ you’ve changed. Granny’s always been… Granny. What if she’s still lying to me?”

“She might be,” Lena admitted. “I don’t know. She’s old, I’m sure there are a lot of things she doesn’t talk about or tell anyone.”

“Then how do I trust her?”

“Believe the things she _does_ say. The things you can prove are true. She’s right about one thing.”

Webby tilted her head to look at Lena, raising an eyebrow. “What’s that?”

“Your optimism _is_ you greatest strength. And you make everyone around you better for it. I mean, look at me.” She gestured to herself. “Where do you think I would’ve ended up if I’d never met you? You had faith in me. That literally kept me alive.” She held up her arm with the friendship bracelet. “The world isn’t all cotton candy and sunshine and rainbows, but it’s better because you’re in it. Because you _still_ believe in people after everything that’s happened. People suck and are inherently untrustworthy, but for every ten of them, there’s one of you. And that makes a difference.”

Webby ducked her head, blushing and smiling. Louie had helped, of course, with everything he’d said in the cave. But there was just something about hearing the words from Lena that made it feel _real_. Maybe because she hadn’t given Lena a million speeches about believing the best in people. Or maybe because Lena really was proof that people could change.

“You’re right.” She shifted to return the hug, pressing close to Lena. “Thanks, Lena.”

“Any time, Pink. My window’s always open.”


End file.
